Number the Stars Criminality Quotes
How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
De Frie Danske—The Free Danes—was an illegal newspaper; Peter Neilson brought it to them occasionally, carefully folded and hidden among ordinary books and papers, and Mama always burned it after she and Papa had read it. (1.54)
In the United States today, we are lucky enough to have freedom of speech and freedom of the press; everybody has a right to read or publish a newspaper of his or her choice. But in 1940s Nazi-occupied Denmark, that was not the case. At all. To read an illegal newspaper like De Frie Danske, was incredibly dangerous. Before the Internet (ah!), this was all they had to connect them to the world outside their homes, and they couldn't even do so in peace.
But Annemarie heard Mama and Papa talk […] about […] news of sabotage against the Nazis, bombs hidden and exploded in the factories that produced war materials, and industrial railroad lines damaged so that the goods couldn't be transported. (1.54)
Why did the Danes just give up and allow the Nazis to enter their country? Well, as it turns out, the Danish people are doing their part. Not only did they blow up their own navy so the Nazis couldn't use it, but they are constantly trying to find ways to sabotage the bad guys, working against the war from the inside out.
There was something frightening about his [Peter's] being here at night. Copenhagen had a curfew, and no citizens were allowed out after eight o'clock. It was very dangerous, she knew, for Peter to visit at this time. (3.32)
The Nazis are treating the Danes like children, taking away their freedom to make their own choices. But in this case, the punishments for breaking the rules are much worse than just being grounded for a couple weeks.